


TK's Setback

by orphan_account



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Amputation, Amputee TK, Carlos is a Good Boyfriend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mentions of Cancer, Nightmares, Owen is a good dad, Panic Attacks, References to Depression, this is really sad i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23487250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: TK Strand thought he could take on the world, until one not so little accident changed everything.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand
Comments: 5
Kudos: 77





	1. eyes wide open

It's been forty three hours and seventeen minutes since Captain Strand and the 126 got the call. The call they never expected to see one of their own on. It's been forty three hours and twenty minutes since TK's car flipped over on the side of the road and pinned him underneath. It's been forty three hours and twenty seven minutes since Owen had let his son leave early to go have dinner with Carlos. It has barn forty one hours and fifty one minutes since Paul called Carlos to tell him TK couldn't make it to dinner. It's been thirty seven hours since TK has gotten out of surgery. TK is only alive because he left a major part of himself behind. 

"He made it through the surgery," Dr. Thompson started, "however, we were not able to save his left leg. Despite you and your team's effort at the scene there was too much damage and we needed to amputate. I am so sorry Captain but TK should be able to make a full _physical_ recovery."

Physical. TK was strong and healthy he could recover physically from this but mentally is a different situation. TK struggled with depression ever since he was fifteen years old and anxiety followed closely. TK struggled with an opioid addiction and any little unfortunate event could send him over the edge and he would start using again. This was a lot worse than a little unfortunate event. 

After the surgery Owen took a seat at his son's side. TK looked so lifeless. Even more lifeless when he was unconscious laying on ground half in his car and half out of it. The wires that were connected to his chest made the machine beep steadily. The IV in his left arm was connected to a saline drip keeping him hydrated as well as a morphine pump keeping the pain level as low as it can go. The doctors are giving him morphine, an opioid. Just one more thing that might make this whole recovery a lot tougher on TK. TK's face had a few scars on it from the impact that the doctors stitched up during surgery. He had a nasal cannula connected to the oxygen tank on the wall helping him breathe. TK's right leg is tucked in underneath the covers. His left leg, or what is left of it, is bandaged up to his hospital gown and is resting above the covers. The space was empty where his knee, calf, and foot should be. It was empty and it looked wrong to look at. Owen felt ashamed of looking at it and kept looking away.

It had taken TK forty three hours and twenty minutes since his accident to wake up. He's been unconscious for almost two days and everyone knows what happened, except for him. Carlos eventually joined Owen at TK's bedside and slowly stroked his hair as he waited for his boyfriend to wake up. As if on queue TK began to slowly wake up from his two day slumber. His eyes flutter open and are instantly squeezed shut. A soft groan escapes his mouth.

"TK? Can you hear me?" Owen whispers carefully trying not to startle him. Carlos is holding TK's hand now standing up hovering his body and Owen is doing the same on the other side of the bed. 

TK doesn't give an actual response besides gripping his father and his boyfriend's hand tighter as a tear leaves his eyes. Pain. All TK is feeling is pain. A sharp pain his leg that isn't even there anymore but he doesn't know that yet. He feels one of the hands let go for a moment. But it comes back. TK hears a quiet chatter in the room. He can't distinguish what they're saying.

TK wakes up a second time and this time the pain is more bearable he is able to open his eyes and look at his father and his boyfriend. Everything is still a little foggy and all he can do is mumble, "wha- what hap," he starts before Owen cuts him off.

"TK you were in an accident, your car flipped over during the storm and you were pinned," Owen pauses to take a breath knowing this is going to be the hardest thing he will ever have to tell his son, "when we got to the scene you were pinned under your car, um your leg was pinned," He stops talking when TK shifts his focus from his father to his leg. 

He lets out a loud gasp for air as he looks at it for the first time. His breathing gets heavier and his hands begin to shake. Tears start falling faster faster down his face but his focus doesn't change. Carlos begins to say his name repeatedly as he strokes his hair. Next thing he knows Owen is cradling his head into his chest and his grip gets tighter. He used to do this when TK was a child and had very bad panic attacks.

The panic resided and TK's emotion changed to grief. He was now sobbing into his father's chest causing his father and Carlos to shed some tears as well. It eventually became too much for Carlos to hold back and he excused himself into the hallway to where the team was all waiting for an update. 

"Tyler Kennedy, I need you to listen to me," Owen begins, "this is not the end of world, okay?" He said as his son was still crying hysterically, "you can get through this, I'll make sure you get through this." 

He continues to sob for a few hours and Carlos reenters the room after he calmed himself down and updated the team. He told them all to go home as TK would not want any visitors for a while. He sits beside his bed again and gently grabs TK's hand. Carlos notices His hand is shaking so much he grabs it with his other hand as well causing TK to look away from the blank wall and to his boyfriend. 

"You're gonna be okay, I promise" Carlos says softly as he raises their hands to his mouth and places a gentle kiss to the top of his boyfriends hand. TK hasn't been able to form a lot of sentences since he woke up. He's overwhelmed with everything so he only stutters a little bit but Carlos knows what he means when he just shakes his repeatedly and squeezes his eyes. "Hey, I got you," Carlos says as he moves himself into TK's small hospital bed with him and holds him close as TK bruries his head into his boyfriends neck. They don't speak, they just lay there until TK calms down and is able to get some sleep. 


	2. Carlos is there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone hates hospitals but not how Tyler Kennedy hates hospitals.

Everyone hates hospitals but Tyler Kennedy _hates_ hospitals. He's never had a good experience at hospitals. He was born in one and even he sometimes wishes that never happened. TK broke his arm when he was six years old and at that moment, he has never felt a greater pain. At eleven TK needed his appendix out and the student anesthesiologist didn't do his job right and TK woke up half way through his surgery and at eleven years old that was the scariest moment of his life. When TK decided to come out to his mom at sixteen she did not react the way he had hoped. She got angry and started yelling at him until she finally snapped and told him to live with his dad. Owen welcomed TK with open arms but that didn't stop him from being sad and angry at his mother and he began using. Not long after his first use he overdosed and woke up in the ER with his dad next to him. After that, TK had psych evaluations after psych evaluations until he was able to convince the doctors he was okay. That didn't stop him from using, he just got better at hiding it. He made it through high school without a second overdose but when he entered the fire academy and started partying with other young firefighters his use of opioids got worse. He started using when he was drinking and experimenting with other drugs. Two days after he graduated the academy his father found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. That was a moment of clarity for TK and Owen. They both knew this needed to stop and Owen took control of his son's situation. He sent his son to rehab and when he got out he made sure he was hired into his station to keep an eye on him. TK always looked up to Owen but he didn't want his father to be his boss and for him to be known as the 'Captains Kid' so he attempted to join a different station but Owen didn't trust TK 100% and decided to not give him a choice. Working under his father went great for TK. He kept himself healthy and clean. He managed to get four years of sobriety under his belt. His relationship with Alex helped him stay clean. Alex was his anchor. TK depended on Alex. He couldn't live without Alex. _He didn't know how._ When Alex rejected his proposal and announced he has been cheating on him, TK broke. TK was broken. He only knew two things in that moment, Alex & Opioids. He needed one but he lost one. TK woke up to his father and team hovering over him as he threw up on the living room floor. Owen was heartbroken. His son worked so hard and now needed to start over. Those few hours in the hospital were terrible to him. Doctors kept asking if it was a suicide attempt and didn't believe him when he said it wasn't. How could they? When he couldn't believe himself. When TK woke up from his coma he was relieved. He was relieved that it was only a gunshot. He was relieved that it wasn't his fault. 

This time around in the hospital was the worst one. It wasn't a quick visit. It was ten days of constant pain and unbearable grieving of a body part. And the worst part? He doesn't know if he could've prevented it. He doesn't remember the car accident and his father refuses to talk about. He kept trying to stay positive for his son and talking about what almost took him away was too much in the moment. Was it selfish? Yeah, Owen was being selfish because his son keeps asking about it but it's too hard for him to even think about. Owen's constant denial of the subject makes TK think it was his fault. 

Carlos didn't know much about the accident except there was one other victim and she was fine. Nothing more than a few bruised ribs. TK was glad that nobody else was hurt but he very much wished he wasn't hurt this much. Carlos has been doing his best to be there for him and to comfort him. Whenever Owen couldn't be at TK's bedside Carlos made sure he was there. He didn't want to leave TK alone in this terrible state. Carlos spent nights asleep in an uncomfortable hospital chair to make sure his boyfriend wouldn't wake up alone. 

The team came to visit a lot. It was often too overwhelming for TK when they all came at the same time and he was forced to make small talk. He could sometimes be able to handle one at a time but even then he felt the overbearing. TK snapped when the whole team came to visit. They were just asking how he was and trying to make sure he was okay but TK didn't want to talk. He yelled at them, telling them to leave him alone. It worked. They left and TK broke down into sobs. He felt bad for snapping at them but they understood TK was fragile right now. 

TK was now on day seven of his ten day hospital stay since he's woken up. It was still early, TK had just woken up and neither his father or Carlos was there. But laying on the floor was Buttercup which instantly made his crappy day ten times better. He knew his father had a chemo appointment this morning and wouldn't be here all day and Carlos promised to come by right when his shift got over which wasn't until 9am and the clock read 7:45. When the nurse saw he was awake she came by with something for his breakfast and his medication. TK took the three pills easily but it pained him to know one of them was an opioid. His father assured him that this didn't take away his sobriety and the doctors assured him that without the pills his pain would be to extreme to tolerate. TK didn't have the energy to put up a fight so he obliged and took them. He picked at the food. He was sick of the food at this point and barely ate anything. He watched the crappy hospital cable as he patted Buttercups head.

Next thing he knows Carlos appears in the doorway. Buttercup gets up to greet him and Carlos takes a seat on the edge of TK's bed. He sits in the spot where his leg would be resting if it was still there which caused TK to wince and look away. Carlos takes the hint and stands up and reposition himself. 

"Can you um take him out? He's been here a while," TK quietly asks Carlos while gesturing to the dog.

"Yeah, do you want to come with me? I can grab a wheelchair you can get some fresh air," Carlos begins before TK interrupts.

"No. I don't." TK says quietly with pain in his eyes and Carlos nods in agreement and leaves for a few minutes with the dog. TK was entirely alone. It felt nice for the quiet but it didn't last long with the loud thoughts occupying his brain. 

When Carlos returns the nurse also returns. She brings in a walker that they already discussed TK would need to start using before he was discharged in a few days. He rolled his eyes as the nurse starts explaining the routine to him. 

"A few discharge requirements are you need to be able to get to the bathroom by yourself preferably without using the wheelchair," she starts. Ever since TK has gotten off the catheter he had his father or his boyfriend almost carry him to the bathroom because it was too much of a hassle for the wheelchair every time. "Right now we are just going to try to get from the bed to the chair," she continues and pushes the chair away from the bed a few feet. The distance isn't far but TK is exhausted just looking at it. TK sits himself up in the bed and turns his body so his one leg is hanging off the bed. He slowly grips the handles with shaky hands. "It's okay, we won't let you fall," she says and TK takes notice that Carlos is on one side of him ready to help him and the nurse is on the other. He takes a deep breath before slowly standing up and trying to balance. Carlos's hand raises behind TK's bag just incase. He remains standing there for a second before he starts to move. Moving with the walker is harder than TK would've thought. He basically needs to hop while trying to maintain his balance. He stares at the floor as he shuffles his leg and walker in front of him a little bit. Taking another breath TK does the same thing. And he does it again. TK does it one more time before Carlos and the nurse grabs his arms and helps him ease into the chair. TK is out of breath and exhausted. The nurse praises him and exits the room. Carlos sits on the arm of the chair and kisses TK's forehead.

"You did great," Carlos whispers. TK is to tired to respond so he just mumbles into Carlos's chest. 

About ten minutes later TK finally regained a little energy and is ready to get back into the bed. Carlos helps TK to his feet and he begins moving. TK is surprised when Owen shows up in the doorway and he loses his balance and almost collapses to the ground but Carlos is right there to catch him and ease him into the bed. That's when TK realizes Carlos will always be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank You for reading. Please leave comments and feedback.


End file.
